Could you change
someone's life?
Foster carers provide a safe, stable and nurturing environment for children and young people who are unable to live with their birth family. Providing children and young people with a loving and supportive environment, for however long they may need it, makes a huge difference to their lives – and yours.
The need for foster carers has never been greater
In Northamptonshire alone, there are currently more than 1,000 children and young people in need of a foster family.
Children and young people of all ages (up to 18 years) may come into care for a variety of reasons. Each child has their own story and life experiences.
Children and young people may need a foster home due to family illness, a breakdown in family relationship, problems at home or where their safety is deemed to be at risk.
When a child comes into foster care, they need a safe, secure space in a loving home – with someone like you!
Fostering comes in different shapes and sizes.
Children and young people can come into care for all sorts of reasons, and every child will have their own lived experience, so it is important that we have different types of foster carers to meet their needs.
Emergency fostering
Emergency fostering placements from one night to 10 days are often unplanned with little to no notice, there usually isn’t time for foster parent and child introductions. Carers may be called at any time – day or night.
Short-term fostering
Designed to provide immediate, short-term care for children and young people who are living away from their birth family. A safe and secure environment may be needed at very short notice, whilst decisions are made about their future.
Long-term fostering
Caring for children who are unable to return to their birth families. A stable, long-term family environment for several years is needed. Often the child will remain with the same foster family until they reach adulthood.
Resilience fostering
A specialist role caring for children and young people (aged 8-18) who have experienced trauma and challenges in their life. Resilience carers receive therapeutic training and support to be able to offer a long-term home to young people who require higher levels of support.
Family link
Providing much-needed respite for disabled children and their families, family link carers provide short breaks for children in a safe environment this could be a few hours at a time, to a few days a month, depending on the child’s needs. They build up a wonderful relationship with the child and parent.
Parent and child fostering
Usually short-term, this type of fostering involves a parent and their baby or a very young child living with a foster carer. The role of the foster carer, with the support of other professionals, is to support the parent in developing the skills to care for their child independently keeping families together.
To meet the needs of children
Although we have resilience foster carers for children who have an identified need for specialist support, we believe that it is important for all our foster carers to be trained in supporting children who have experienced trauma.
Our training in this area both upskills and empowers foster carers to become ‘therapeutic champions’, who are confident in supporting healthy relationships, with effective self-regulation skills and resilience.
Taking place over five days, you will learn about:
- Parental and other attachments
- Child development
- Secure base parenting
- The impact of trauma on physical and emotional development
- How to communicate with children and implement therapeutic parenting
- Tools designed to support children and young people
Your role as a foster carer
It is likely that a child or young person needing foster care may have experienced trauma within their life. As a foster carer, your role, with our support and training, is to be a key member of the ‘team around the child’.
You will work closely with other people involved in the child’s life, including social workers, teachers, therapists, healthcare professionals, as well as the child’s birth family.
It will also be necessary to take a child to health, social care and education appointments, and also to remain in regular contact with their allocated social worker.
Most importantly, as a foster carer you will never feel or be alone. You will be guided on how best to support the children or young people within your care and in turn, you too will receive support in navigating any challenges.
